Additional Resources

Press Release
December 13, 2007

Successful Test for First Phase of National Archives Electronic Records Archives System

Washington, DC…The development of the Electronic Records Archives
(ERA) system has passed a significant milestone, with the successful completion
of government testing of the first delivery of software from the developer,
Lockheed Martin Corporation. ERA is the National Archives and Records
Administration’s strategic initiative to preserve and provide long-term
access to uniquely valuable electronic records of the U.S. Government, and
to transition government-wide management of the lifecycle of all records into
the realm of e-government.

Lockheed Martin started deploying ERA hardware last spring and released the
first pilot software to the National Archives on September 27, 2007. After
extensive engineering and end-user testing of the system, the National Archives
gave Lockheed Martin the green light to complete development of the second
pilot.

The first pilot supports creating and processing records schedules and requests
for transfer of records. The second pilot, to be delivered at the end
of December, 2007, will add system functions for transferring electronic records. The
third pilot, scheduled for delivery in early March, 2008, will provide tools
for automated inspection of electronic records. Ken Thibodeau, ERA Program
Director at the National Archives, describes the pilots as “three ounces
of prevention” aimed at ensuring that the system’s Initial Operating
Capability (IOC) meets the government’s needs with a robust design and
a high quality user interface.

This first milestone is the result of a two year process, and represents a
shift in schedule. Lockheed Martin had planned to deliver in September,
2007, software that would enable officials from the National Archives and other
agencies to use the system to develop and process records schedules and requests
to transfer records to the National Archives as well as actual transfer, inspection
and storage of electronic records. Translating the National Archives
business needs into a working system proved challenging. Under a revised
schedule, Lockheed Martin will deliver three software pilots, gradually including
all the functions needed to reach IOC.

The National Archives will test each of the three pilots. After Lockheed Martin
has addressed any items identified in National Archives testing of the pilots,
it will release the IOC system for a final round of government testing in May,
2008. The National Archives expects to complete product and operational
testing and put the system into operation by the end of June, 2008.

Government testing of the first pilot was performed by engineers and other
technical subject matter experts within the National Archives. Additional
technical experts who provide support to the program management office include
contractors from the ALON Corporation and from Northrop Grumman Corporation,
which offers independent validation and verification for the ERA development.

Testing of the next two phases will be expanded to include officials from other
Federal agencies and from members of the Advisory Committee on ERA.

ERA Background

ERA is the National Archive’s response to the challenges stemming from
the increasing use of computers in government. These challenges are two-fold. First
there are major difficulties inherent in the diversity, complexity, and enormous
volume of electronic records being created today, as well as the rapidly changing
systems used to create, store and access them. Second, records management,
the techniques used to ensure that records are kept and remain both accessible
and reliable for as long as they are needed, must transition into the realm
of e-government.

ERA will be a comprehensive, systematic, and dynamic means for preserving virtually
any kind of electronic record, free from dependence on any specific hardware
or software. When operational, ERA will support the National Archives
mission by making it easy for the public and government officials to discover,
use, and trust the records of our government, and to make it easy for the National
Archives to deliver those records in formats people can use.

The National Archives main objective in developing the ERA System is to create
a robust, high-quality system that meets the U.S. Government’s records
management and archival needs – and equally important – to create
a system that will be easy for people to use. The combination of ensuring
that ERA will help the National Archives meet its business needs as well as
to meet the needs of its stakeholders is not an easy task.

The National Archives needs are multi-dimensional: it has to help all other
agencies manage the records they need for current business; it has to provide
access to all types of records in the National Archives, Presidential Libraries
and Federal Records Centers to anyone interested in them; in doing so, it has
to ensure that legal restrictions – in its case virtually any restrictions
on any type of government information -- on access are met; and it has to find
a way to preserve and provide sustained access to an ever larger and ever more
complex body of electronic records in a way that ensures the authenticity of
the records while taking advantage of continuing improvements in technologies
for search, access and delivery of digital information.

About the National Archives

The National Archives and Records Administration ensures,
for the citizen, the President, the Congress, and the Courts, access to records
that document the rights of citizens, the actions of Federal officials, and
the national experience. The National Archives plays a key role in
fostering effective and responsible government through management of the
records in all three branches of the Federal Government and through sustained
access to historically valuable records in the National Archives and the
Presidential Libraries.

The Advisory Committee on ERA (ACERA) is chartered under the
Federal Advisory Committee Acts to advise the Archivist of the United States
on technical, mission, and service issues related to ERA. This includes,
but is not limited to, advising and making recommendations to the Archivist on
issues related to the development, implementation, and use of the ERA system.
Its members include experts in archives, records management, libraries, computer
science, history, and the law, including representatives of other Federal agencies
and of state governments.

# # #

For Press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at (202) 357-5300.